At a White House Black History Month event on Wednesday, Alice Johnson reflected on her time in prison, the pardon she received from President Donald Trump during his first term, and her journey to becoming the pardon czar in the Trump White House. “She’s a great woman,” Trump said. “You know, when I was looking for a pardon person, like a pardoned czar, they gave me somebody from Harvard, somebody from Yale, somebody from Princeton, somebody from Penn, somebody from Stanford. And I said, do you know anything about it? Well, we can learn. You know, they can learn. And when I met Alice, I said, she’s better than these people.” “My story is truly a Joseph story,” Johnson said. “This president right here, President Donald Trump, brought me from the prison pit to the White House. Only in America could there be a story like my story. And President Trump is the only president who would have had the courage, the courage to bring someone like me, someone who received a second chance.” “I did not get comfortable in my own freedom, but I went back as Harry Tubman said she did. She went back to draw many others into freedom. And President Trump has listened to those recommendations,” Johnson said.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This is a big job. Alice Johnson. Alice, where’s Alice? What a sweetheart. I met Alice, and she was incarcerated for what some people would say today is not even a fine. Right, Alice? It’s not even a fine. And I said, how long has she been in jail? Twenty-two years. I said, twenty-two years. And right, Alice? Come on up here, Alice. Come on up. I said, twenty-two years? And she was on a phone call. This was over a phone call. I know about fake phone calls, too, Alice. You know, remember? They tried to get me in a fake phone call. But Alice was in jail for like twenty-two years. I said, how many years does she have left? Twenty-eight. I said, twenty-eight years left? And I said it and she admitted she made a little mistake, but it was not the kind of a mistake that you serve 50 years in jail for, like maybe a couple of months, maybe less than that. And I said, this is the most unfair. And then when I met her, I fell in love. My wife was very upset with it. A great First Lady did not like that, Scott. We didn’t. She didn’t like it. But Alice is great. And say a couple of words. It was so ridiculous. Twenty-two years. She had twenty-eight left. And I said, let’s get her the hell out. And we got her out. We did a commute. And then when I got to know her, she was so high quality, I said, full pardon. So she’s she’s cleaner than anybody in this room, even than my friend right here. She’s she’s cleaner — because of that, she’s cleaner than anybody in this room. ALICE JOHNSON, WHITE HOUSE PARDON CZAR: Thank you, Mr. President. The feeling was mutual. I fell in love with this man, with his heart, was with his heart for this country, with his heart to really bring America back to the form of greatness that it deserved. And that’s exactly what he has done. My story is truly a Joseph story. This president right here, President Donald Trump, brought me from the prison pit to the White House. Only in America could there be a story like my story. And President Trump is the only president who would have had the courage, the courage to bring someone like me, someone who received a second chance. But who knows more than someone who is sit among the captives than someone who has been in captivity themselves? I did not get comfortable in my own freedom, but I went back as Harry Tubman said she did. She went back to draw many others into freedom. And President Trump has listened to those recommendations. There’s so much more to come, because when you see me, you see a miracle. You see hope. You see second chances. And you see someone who is willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work, do the hard work to help individuals gain their freedom. President Trump did something historic in his first term. He signed the First Step Act into law. And for that, over 40,000, and that number is low, over 40,000 individuals have come home to their families early. And, you know, many, many, many of those were black Americans who had no hope. This president right here, as you look out upon this sea of black Americans, this president hears you. This president cares for you. Don’t let anyone tell you that this president right here, Donald Trump, has not, is not for black America, because he is. I’m standing here today. I’m standing here today as a testament, as a testament to how he feels about black Americans. There has never been a position like this. I don’t know if there ever will be before, but I’ve worked with him in his first term, and I’m proud to now officially have the title to make it happen. Let’s get, let’s get real with the realness. Let’s get behind President Trump, who truly has turned our nation around and made us the envy of every country in the world. Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, God, for recognizing and raising up this man to be the leader of the free world. I love you. Thank you. Thank you. TRUMP: She’s a great woman. You know, when I was looking for a pardoned person, like a pardoned czar, they gave me somebody from Harvard, somebody from Yale, somebody from Princeton, somebody from Penn, somebody from Stanford. And I said, do you know anything about it? Well, we can learn. You know, they can learn. And when I met Alice, I said, she’s better than these people. And she’s done a fantastic job. You know, I said to Alice, I said, so I’m looking for people like you to let out. How many people are there like you? She said, many. I said, many in jail. Think of it. Twenty-two years she was in jail and she had 28 years to go on a phone call. You admit you did a little something wrong, right? But it was like, okay, it wasn’t it wasn’t 50 years. Even if you said six months today, it would be probably nothing. But even if you said some little time. But I said, I’m looking for other people like you. How many are there? Many.

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